Topic Contents

Being Active When You Have More Than One Health Problem

Topic Overview

When
you are living with health problems, regular exercise and activity are
important. They keep you healthier, give you energy, make you stronger, and
help your mood.

Exercise and activity can help many health
problems. An active body is less likely to give in to
diabetes, heart disease, lung disease,
arthritis,
depression, or weight gain. And being active can help
protect you from new health problems.

What is being active?

What does "exercise" or
"being active" mean? It all depends on what you can do. When you think of exercise, you may think of running or going to a gym. This may be overwhelming to you. But exercise can be about making small changes in physical activity level. For example, parking your car in the farthest parking space from a store, can be a first small step.

It can be
hard to be active when you have many health problems. Exercising enough to
control diabetes can be a challenge when arthritis makes walking painful or
when heart failure slows you down. But there are choices, like doing exercises
in the water or as part of a cardiac rehab program.

With your
doctor's help, you can decide what works for you. Figure out what is safe, what
to avoid, and what kinds of choices you have. Don't be too active or get too
much exercise at first. Do a little at first, and then gradually do more.

What are the benefits?

Regular exercise:

Helps control stress, depression, and
anxiety.

Gives you more energy.

Helps manage blood pressure and cholesterol.

Lowers your risk for heart attack and stroke.

Makes your lungs stronger.

Keeps your weight down.

Keeps your blood sugar at a healthy level.

Can build
bone strength.

How do you stay safe?

You want to live life to its
fullest, but you don't want to hurt yourself.

1. Know your strengths and your barriers. When you have more than one
chronic disease, there may be some physical limits on what you can do.
If you push your limits, you could hurt yourself. It's
also normal to have feelings that can get in the way, like fear, depression, or being self-conscious.
These emotions and physical limits are called barriers.

2. Get expert advice. Talk to your doctor about all of your
symptoms, medicines, and barriers to being active. Talk about your strengths
and what you enjoy doing. If you've been feeling depressed, be sure to talk
about that too. Depression can make even the simplest things seem hard.

Use this
planning form(What is a PDF document?) to gather your thoughts. What do you most like to do? What kinds
of things get in your way? What questions do you have for your doctor?

Go over your planning form with your doctor. Write down what you can do
for exercise and what you need to be careful about. Set a long-term goal you
can reach, and write the small steps you will take toward it. Working on these small steps will make it more likely that you will achieve your long-term goal. When you reach your goal, find
a way to celebrate it. Then set another goal.

Your doctor may work
with you on an exercise prescription. This clearly sets out what is safe for
you, such as your
target heart rate range and any need for medical
supervision while you exercise. If you need medical staff with you when you
exercise, your doctor will suggest that you sign up for an exercise rehab
program.

3. Know when to stop and when to call your doctor. When you exercise, it's normal to have some minor muscle and joint soreness. But other signs may point to something more serious. Stop exercising if:

You have pain in your chest or upper belly that may spread to your neck, jaw, upper back, shoulder, and arms. Call 911 right away if this happens. Chest pain can be a signal of a heart attack.

You are panting or are very short of breath.

You feel sick to your stomach.

You have pain, joint discomfort, or muscle cramps that won't go away.

Your doctor may add other symptoms to look out for, based
on your health.

Call your doctor if your symptoms don't go away
quickly or if they come back again.

What are some basic tips for exercising when you have health problems?

Be as active as you can as often as you can, but honor
your body's limits.

Set goals that you can reach. If you expect too
much, it's easy to get discouraged and stop exercising.

Keep your
emergency phone numbers with you at all times.

Don't be too
active when you begin. This could mean starting out with just a few minutes of
exercise. Each day or so, slightly increase how long and how hard you're
active.

Find a group, class, or buddy you can enjoy being active
with.

Stay within your doctor's guidelines. For example, if you have
angina, walk just a little slower than the pace that gives you chest pain. If
you have arthritis of the knee or hip, walk on level ground and avoid hills.
Even better, exercise in the water. If you are unsure of your safe range, work
with a physical therapist to find it.

Do not exercise if your
condition is worse than usual. For example, if you have heart failure, do not
exercise during a flare-up.

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How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.